Volleyball Rules: Block

Often the most spectacular and crowd-pleasing play in volleyball is a hard-driven spike, an offensive attack in which a player leaps and strikes the ball hard enough that the defense might not even get a hand on it before it hits the ground. The best defense against such a blow is the block, in which one or more players attempt to stop the spike before it crosses the net by putting their open hands up and over the net to make contact with the ball.

  1. Basics

    • A block can be done by front-row players only. A player may stand or jump to reach over and across the net into the offensive team's space, but he may not make contact with the net at any time. Contact with the net is a foul and a point is awarded to the other team. Blocks are allowed only when an offensive team has attacked the ball—sets may not be blocked, nor may serves. A block by two or three defensive players at the same time is considered a single contact.

    Indoor Versus Outdoor

    • Blocks made during indoor games do not count as hits. If a player makes contact with a spike, but the ball continues into the defensive team's court, that team still is allowed three hits in order to send it back over the net. In fact, the blocker may make contact with the ball immediately after the block as one of his team's three hits. Under USA Volleyball rules for beach games—which are implemented for doubles matches only, since no other types of beach volleyball matches are sanctioned by the governing body—a block does count as a hit. In other words, if a player blocks a spike but the ball continues into his court, he and his teammate are allowed only two more hits.

    Libero

    • A libero is a defensive specialist that was introduced to the international game in 1998, but his defensive duties remain in the back row. Although he can move about the court like any other player, and even act as a setter if the set is from behind the 10 foot line, he "may not serve, block or attempt to block," according to USA Volleyball.

    Blocking Faults

    • Blocking faults, which lead to a point for the attacking team, include those mentioned above as well as blocking a ball before or at exactly the same moment that an offensive player attacks it, blocking from outside the antennae and sending a ball out of bounds when it is blocked—in other words, the spike hits the block and then sails out of bounds. In the latter case, the ball is in play until it strikes the ground or an object that is out of bounds; therefore, a ball that is blocked and sails out of bounds may still be played by members of the blocker's team.